August 1, 2013

Yves Engler: Tragedy in Canadian town turns into an opportunity for some to argue
that pipeline transport is safer, when the real argument should be against an oil-driven
economy

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biography

Yves Engler is a Canadian commentator and author. His most recent book is The Ugly Canadian - Stephen Harper's Foreign Policy, and previously he published The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy and Canada in Haiti: Waging War on The Poor Majority

transcript

Last month, an explosive train crash carrying 72 wagons of oil leveled a Canadian town east of Montreal, killing 47 people. The company responsible for the crash has refused to pay for the cleanup because, they say, they don't have the money. According to Montreal, Maine and Atlantic, their insurer is also refusing to pay for the recovery. In response, Quebec Environment Minister Yves-FranÃ§ois Blanchette has ordered the company behind the rail disaster to pay for the cleanup, which includes an estimated 5.7 million liters of oil.

Joining us to discuss all of this is Yves Engler. Yves Engler is a Canadian commentator and author. His most recent book is The Ugly Canadian - Stephen Harper's Foreign Policy. The book explores Canada's extensive military campaign in Libya, opposition to social transformation in Latin America, and support for a right-wing Israeli government.

Thank you for joining us, Yves.

YVES ENGLER, AUTHOR, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks for having me.

DESVARIEUX: So, Yves, my first question to you is about this company. They say they can't pay. What is your response?

ENGLER: Well, I think it probably--ultimately, when all the cleanup costs are added up together, they won't be able to pay. They're talking about $500 million to $1 billion in total cleanup costs.

Obviously, the $8 million that's been asked of them from the city for the initial phase of the cleanup, they have that money. They're trying to pass the buck to their insurer. And obviously they want to, you know, spend as little as possible on in the cleanup process.

And it's just sort of reflective of the company's general practices, which have been one of cutting costs everywhere. The company specializes in privatizing formerly public-owned railways. And they say that openly. And they've also been aggressive in lobbying to reduce the number of engineers on the train. So the train that exploded only had one engineer in charge of it, whereas previously the policy was two, and the MM&A has been aggressive in lobbying for this reduction to one. So it's a business model that's oriented around cutting costs, you know, doing as little as possible in terms of safety regulations. And the company's safety record shows that.

So it's, I think, just an example of, you know, corporate behavior that is, you know, designed to spend as little and make as much in terms of profit, and this is just an extension of that kind of philosophy.

DESVARIEUX: Let's talk a little bit more about this business model. You have a Miami-based company as well that received a request to pay for the cleanup. The insurer received a request, as well as, obviously, the company. Each of these companies have said that no, they will not be paying for the cleanup. What do you make of this? Do you think that the practice of subcontracting has fueled this sort of attitude of no culpability, no sense of responsibility?

ENGLER: Yeah. I mean, I think that the--obviously, when you're talking about up to $1 billion in costs, that's a lot for any company and a company that's not that big a company to cover it, and they prefer to go under than to cover it. And the way that the corporate model works is that basically, you know, it allows wealthy people to set aside their legal responsibility by having these subcontractors. So, yeah, it's a way of avoiding responsibility.

You know, it's not just the insurer and MM&A, but also the Irving refinery where the oil was going to. There's been a legal pursuit against them for their responsibility in this, and they're completely ignoring it. They're just trying to stay below the radar and not making any comment.

Basically what you have developing here is a situation where where there are profits, the companies take them; where there are costs, they're going to wait for the government, in this case probably the Quebec government, to some extent the federal government, to pick up the socialization of the costs, which, you know, from the standpoint of the public and the environment is a incredibly damaging process.

DESVARIEUX: Some also have seized this disaster as evidence that petroleum products should be transported through pipelines. What is your response to this argument, especially in light of TransCanada's announcement?

ENGLER: I mean, that's the--immediately the Globe and Mail editorial, the leading daily newspaper in Canada, came out saying that this disaster is a sign that, you know, pipelines are the option and are a safer option. And it's probably correct that pipelines are slightly safer then transporting oil by rail.

End

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